


Vel in Morte

by RaeOfSunshine524



Category: Silent Witness (TV)
Genre: F/M, I'm trying, Warnings May Change, ship may change, title may change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:15:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22023175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaeOfSunshine524/pseuds/RaeOfSunshine524
Summary: I don't think the fandom is very big, and I don't think there are a lot of fics, but I just really felt like writing one so, I did. And I've decided to put it here, just in case anyone would like to read itStarts at Season 20And, knowing me, some chapters will probably be re-written several times as I rewatch(Tessa Cole joined the Lyell with Jack and Clarissa)
Relationships: OC/Jack Hodgson
Comments: 6
Kudos: 13





	1. Identity: Part One

**Author's Note:**

> You don't get to know a lot about Tessa at the beginning  
> You get to know her better as the story goes on

** IDENTITY PART ONE **

Nikki Alexander smiles when she sees the young woman standing in the doorway, waiting.

“Tessa. I wasn’t sure when you were coming back.” she says.

“Yesterday. I managed to escape earlier than I thought I would.” Tessa Cole tells her, Scottish accent more obvious than it had been before she had left.

“Was it alright?” Nikki asks, and Tessa pulls a face, tilting her head from one side to the other. “Does Jack know you’re back yet?”

“No, he doesn’t. I’m just going to go see him, Clarissa wants me there.” Tessa tells her. Nikki nods and leaves as Tessa turns to go to the room Jack Hodgson and Clarissa Mullery are both in. “Hey, you overgrown leprechaun.” she calls out as she enters, and Jack turns, smiling.

“When did you get back? You were going to be away for another week.” he says, though he sounds happy to see her.

“Got away early.” she tells him, putting her bag down on a chair.

“How was it?”

“Tell you later. What’ve we got?”

“Jamal Al Sham, fell from a roof.” Clarissa tells her.

“If you had to choose, would you rather be looking down at the ground as you fell, or looking up?” Jack Hodgson asks.

“Do you really think I’m going to play that game?” Clarissa Mullery asks.

“I hadn’t really developed a view.”

“I’d rather be looking up. Rather look at the sky one last time than stare at the oncoming concrete.” Tessa says.

“Suicide, assisted suicide, I don’t believe in it.” Clarissa says, “I don’t think Jamal did either.”

“Well, according to the police, you’re wrong.” Jack tells her. Clarissa brings a picture up on the screen in front of her.

“He’s got subha, Muslim prayer beads, on his personal effects list.”

“Sure those are prayer beads?” Tessa asks, and she can feel Clarissa wanting to roll her eyes.

“Thirty-three prayer beads. He uses them to count as he recites the words of the Dhikr.” Clarissa explains, “So, it’s reasonable to think he was somewhat devout.”

“What’s that mean exactly?” Jack asks.

“Suicide is a sin in Islam.” Tessa explains

“The prophet said, ‘Whoever throws himself down from a mountain and kills himself will be in the Fires of Hell, throwing himself down therin for ever and ever.’” Clarissa quotes, and the other woman nods.

“Did you notice any blood where he went over the barrier?” Nikki asks Jack.

“Er, no. No obvious blood or footprints.” Jack tells her, “Detective Renick thought he was likely to be a jumper.”

“But you looked?” Nikki asks.

“Uh….”

“What did he miss?” Clarissa asks.

“I’ll show you.” Nikki says, moving out of the room and leading them all to the meeting room. “I think he was stabbed in the neck.” Nikki says, going over to the board on the wall and bringing up a picture of the dead man’s neck.

“The wound suggests a narrow symmetrical blade about fifteen millimetres in width.” Thomas says, tapping up another picture of a ruler being held against the cut.

“There was nothing that I found on or around the body which can account for it, and I think he was stabbed before he fell.” Nikki continues.

“It’s arterial, there should be blood.” Tessa mumbles, and Thomas nods. “Jack? Let’s go.”

***

“How was it?” Jack asks.

“How was what?” Tessa asks as the car turns.

“You know what I mean. How is he?”

“He’s okay.” she says, more softly now. “It’s not getting better, but it’s not getting worse either. A nurse goes in twice a day to make sure he’s managing, and he likes the company. Still does his gardening.”

“Why didn’t you stay? You had a whole week left.” Jack points out, and Tessa tightens her grip on the steering wheel.

“Shit happens, I wanted out.”

“What happened? Tess?”

“It’s a small island, Jack. Everyone knows everything.”

“Oh jeez. Tess-“

“We’re here. Come on, I need to borrow one of your suits.”

***

“Jack and I both walked through here earlier.” Detective Renick tells Tessa.

“Sometimes people miss things.” she shrugs, watching Jack as he fiddles with the bush closest to the edge. He turns from it and pokes Tessa’s neck. Her hand goes up automatically to shield it. “What are you doing?”

“I’ve got an idea.” Jack says, walking past her and heading for the stairs.

“Jack!” she calls, going after him. “Too many stairs at once.” she huffs, completely out of breath, once she reaches him on the ground outside. Jack looks at her quickly before going back into the building. “Don’t do this to me, Jack.”

“Come on, Tess. Exercise, it’s good for you.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

******************

“They found blood spray on three windows.” Clarissa tells Nikki, holding up one of the pictures of the building Jamal Al Sham had fallen from.

“Arterial blood. Spurting as he fell, decreasing in volume.” Nikki says, as Tessa tilts her head to the side.

“Good look.” Jack mutters, noticing the dressing on Nikki’s neck that Tessa is looking at too.

“Cut myself shaving.”

“DCI Goodchild called, wanted to make sure you’re alright.” Thomas says, appearing in the door.

“I’m fine.”

“That’s what I told him.”

“You might have asked me first.”

“Why? Even if you weren’t you’d say you were. I know you.” Thomas says. Nikki, Clarissa and Tessa all share one knowing look.

“He’s right.” Jack agrees, and Tessa raises her eyebrows at Nikki, who does the same.

“DI Renick’s in reception.” Thomas tells Jack.

“Meeting room?”

“Yep, come on. Tessa, you’d better come too.” Thomas says, and Jack turns away to follow him, but pauses at the doorway to wait for Tessa.

“Notice how men always think they know us?” Clarissa asks the other women.

“Probably best to leave them in the dark.” Tessa says before moving to join Jack.

“I do know you though.” he points out.

“Do you, Jack? Do you? For all you know, I could be a werewolf.”

“Wouldn’t be surprised.” he mutters, prompting Tessa to hit his back just before they enter the meeting room. “DI Renick.” Tessa nods to him, and he nods back as Jack and Tessa take their places either side of the board while Clarissa and Nikki file in.

“Jamal Al Sham was stabbed before he fell. He was still alive on the way down.” Tessa starts.

“But the lack of blood on the roof…” DI Renick begins.

“When he was stabbed, the natural reaction would be to grab his neck to try and stop the bleeding.” Jack says, demonstrating this by putting his own hand on his neck. “He succeeded in reducing the blood flow, but with only one free hand was vulnerable to being shoved over the barrier.”

“He was pushed. So, murdered.” Tessa says.

“Well, why didn’t he scream?” DI Renick asks, his Scottish accent stronger and more typical than Tessa’s.

“Speckled pattern on the lungs, showing that he inhaled blood.” Tessa tells him, bringing up a picture. Bringing up a different one, she goes on, “The knife lacerated his larynx. Nikki will complete the post-mortem to see if there are any traces of the assailant. Have you found any kin?”

“No, none. Jamal was a French national from Marseille. French police are…yeah, they’re struggling.”

“His personal effects lead us to believe he was a practising Muslim.” Jack tells the detective.

“He was in a bar.” DI Renick reminds them.

***

“The fall didn’t do Jamal’s phone any favours.” Clarissa says, pulling it out of an evidence bag, “It’s dead.”

“Try plugging it in.” Jack suggests as if she should have already done this without prompting. She does and it lights up immediately. Tessa elbows Jack when she sees his face.

“Don’t be so smug, it makes you look more like a leprechaun.” she tells him, and he elbows her back.

“Alright, children, calm down.” Clarissa tells them.

“Okay, check locations of phone, last screen, apps used, texts messages, access e-mail server.” Jack says.

“She was probably going to do that anyway.” Tessa mumbles.

“It’s locked.” Clarissa tells him.

“Unlock it!” Jack says impatiently, “Try 1-2-3-4, or the old four zeros trick.”

“Eight tries left before you wipe the phone.” Clarissa reads off the screen.

“4-3-2-1?” Tessa suggests, and Clarissa looks up.

“You two are as bad as each other.” she says simply before whizzing away and out of the room.

“Where are you going?” Jack asks. Tessa pushes herself up off the table.

“She’s gone to finger scan the phone.” she tells him, following Clarissa out.

***

“Can I get some details, please?” the woman behind the desk at the hospital asks, “Name?” Akka looks at Nikki, who nods.

“Akka Khoury.”

“Date of birth?”

“September 2001.”

“Address?” the woman asks, and Akka looks at Nikki again. She looks like she’s about to turn and leave when Tessa cuts in,

“Thomas Lyell House, 118 Giles Street, London, W2.”

“Do you have a phone number?” the woman asks.

“No, she doesn’t have a phone.” Nikki tells her.

“She doesn’t have a phone?”

“It’s broken. She hasn’t bought a new one yet.” Tessa says.

“Why don’t we get her in to see a doctor and then we can worry about that?” Nikki asks.

“How did you get your injuries?” the woman asks.

“I don’t think you’re meant to be asking that.” Tessa says lowly.

“It’s on the form.”

“She fell.”

“What kind of fall?”

“Look, she really needs to see a doctor as soon as possible.” Nikki cuts in.

“And I’ll need to contact her parents.”

“No you won’t.” Tessa says.

“Gillick Competency.” Nikki adds.

“And what are your relationships with Miss Khoury?” the woman behind the desk asks.

“We’re her friends.”

“Not next of kin?”

“We would have said next of kin if either of us were next of kin.” Tessa tells her.

“I need to sit down.” Akka says suddenly, and the two women turn with her to find a chair.

“This is dodgy, Nikki.” Tessa mutters.

“We don’t have much choice.” Nikki whispers back.

“What do you want to bet she’s calling the police?” Tessa hisses.

“Police?” Akka asks worriedly, and Nikki shoots Tessa a look as her phone goes off.

“Jack. What can I do you for?” Tessa asks brightly.

_We’ve found Janna. Where’ve you gone?_

“Uuhh, not there?”

_Tess…_

“Keep me posted, yeah? Got to go, call you later, bye!” Tessa says quickly, accent coming out stronger now.

_Tessa! Look, talk to me. What’s going on?_

“Nothing’s going on.”

 _What happened when you went home?_ Jack asks bluntly, and Tessa’s face turns stony.

“Goodbye, Jack.” she shoves her phone in her pocket as a nurse appears with a clipboard.

“Akka…Khoury?” she reads off it, and all three of them rise to go with her. “Just Akka.” The nurse says. Nikki hesitates, then moves her arm from around Akka.

“It’ll be okay.” she tells her. Akka starts walking with the nurse, and then Nikki goes after her as Tessa’s phone buzzes. “Could you tell the doctor that she’s fractured the left orbital rim, and possibly the anterior maxillary wall. And the radius and ulna are fractured in her left arm.” Nikki reels off fluently.”

“Of course, Doctor Google.” the nurse sighs before pulling the curtain closed around herself and Akka.

A few minutes later, Tessa has silenced her phone and Nikki has obtained some water. They walk around the corner and see the woman from the desk that had interrogated them talking to two police officers.

“What did I tell you?” Tessa hisses. “We need to get Akka out of here now.” she adds, and Nikki nods. They speed up, but almost imperceptibly, over to the yellow curtains Akka had disappeared behind. Nikki pulls them open, but it isn’t Akka behind them.

“Sorry. Excuse me.” she whispers before turning. Tessa picks up a clipboard and scans it for Akka’s name.

“Can I help you?” a nurse asks.

“Radiology. I’m looking for Akka Khoury.” Tessa tells her, and the nurse points to a curtain. “Thank you.” Tessa nods, and Nikki follows her to the curtain the nurse had pointed out. Sure enough, Akka’s behind it, in a wheelchair.

“We’re going.” Nikki says, rifling through the little rolling cabinet next to Akka. “Tessa?”

“On it.” Tessa tells her, grabbing the handles of Akka’s wheelchair and pushing her forwards, out of the curtains.

***

“I assume you’re in on this as well?” Thomas asks sharply when Tessa walks into the corridor where they are, carrying a water bottle meant for Akka.

“She’s safer here.” she says simply.

“You have to go to the police with this, both of you.” he tells them.

“What, so they can detain her? No, Thomas, no way.” Tessa tells him, “She didn’t come from a refugee camp, she won’t be given asylum.”

“Their home in Aleppo is rubble. They walked here for a better life and she’s lying there, 15 years old and battered!” Nikki exclaims.

“You change who you are for a better life, not where you are.” Thomas says calmly.

“That’s bullshit to her and you know it.” Tessa spits.

“That’s bullshit to anyone who’s had to flee their own country.” Nikki adds. Thomas moves the slatted blinds to look at Akka.

“You live in the shadows. Always looking over your shoulder. And you still think it’s a better life.” he mutters.

“What do I do?” Nikki asks.

“Let her sleep.” he answers, moving the blinds back up.

***

A phone rings in the dark of the room. Tessa picks it up quickly to silence it, so it won’t wake Nikki or Akka.

“Jack?” she asks in a whisper. “What are you doing, it’s…” she pauses to check the time, “past one in the morning. You should be asleep.”

_So should you._

“I’m only awake because my bloody phone went off.” Tessa whispers, bringing her knees up to her chest as she watches Nikki roll over on the sofa. “Would you like to tell me why I’m awake?”

_Why are you whispering? Is someone with you?_

“Uh…yes.” Tessa decides to answer honestly. There’s slightly awkward silence that she doesn't understand until she decides to break it by asking, “What happened with Janna?”

_Janna wasn’t real. Someone was catfishing Jamal, found a picture and used it on the CloudHookUp app._

“Reckon it was the killer?”

_DI Renick thinks so._

“What do you think?” Tessa asks, words warping as she yawns.

_I think you should go to sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow._

“Night-night, Jack.”

***

Tessa stares at Clarissa’s screen. The same code again. A267B94.

“So it’s a password?” DI Renick.

“One of the last messages he sent.” Jack tells him, “He sent it to an unknown recipient, but from the time stamp, it’s likely to be Jamal Al Sham. Did they know each other? They’re both dead. What were they involved in?”

“Well, do we know what it’s a password for?” Renick asks.

“Not yet.” Clarissa tells him.

“Website.” Tessa coughs into her hand.

“Is that the password?” Thomas asks, walking in and towards the screen, “For a website?”

“You think?” Clarissa asks.

“A website. Fancy that, eh, Jack?” Tessa asks, and she receives a sharp look.

“That’s funny. I didn’t see that at all.” Thomas says, “I have a friend who live south on Tunbridge Wells, just off the A267.” he continues, reaching out to the screen and moving the numbers and letters around. “A267. B means Back to London. 94 kilometres to Charing Cross. It’s kilometres, not miles, cause of the EU or something. It’s not a password. It’s a place.”


	2. Identity: Part Two

**IDENTITY PART TWO**

Tessa leans into the van, camera in hand. The smell still itches at her nose. There is writing on the interior of the van. Writing in blood. Addresses in English, passages from the Quran written in other languages. Clarissa might be able to translate some of them. Thomas and Nikki take up the task of bagging the bodies. Jack climbs into the cab of the van and starts brushing away, looking for finger prints and DNA while Tessa pokes at the bonnet. She hitches herself into the passenger seat of the van and pulls out a swab kit as Thomas lifts a child from the back. No one says anything. There aren’t any words to say.

***

“Was it a mistake?” Thomas asks, “They know when the van passed through Dover, did they die en route?”

“Two murdered men knew the location.” Clarissa points out.

“So someone kills Jamal Al Sham and Kali Aziz to keep the van hidden.”

“Did they know?” Jack asks. “The van was hidden.”

“Why would you hide it?” Thomas wonders aloud.

“Because you open the doors when you arrived and found the people inside were dead?” Nikki suggests. “You didn’t know what to do so you hid the van.”

“No. The dents in the doors, they were pushed out the way.” Tessa says, making a fist and pushing it forwards into her other, open, hand to demonstrate. “They were made by people trying to escape. Kicking and punching would have been heard, noticed en route by someone, anyone. The people in the van were alive when they got to the forest.”

“Hidden in the trees and left to die, slowly.” Jack says, “In a metal prison they thought was going to save them.”

There is silence again. Nothing can be said to justify the driver’s actions. Nothing can be said at all.

***

The phones from the van all sit on Clarissa’s desk. Tessa sits on a stool, waiting for one of them to light up.

“I cross checked the address books, numbers received and numbers dialled on our two victims, Jamal and Kali’s phones.” Clarissa tells Jack.

“And?” he asks, screwing a swab into a tube.

“And they had each other’s numbers. One French mobile number in common, under the letters YH. One English mobile number in common, marked AW. Both have the MemoWire messenger app.”

All three of the phones sitting before Tessa light up at once. She picks one up as a message pops through. And all the phones explode at once, all of them making different noises as floods of sent messages come up on their screens. All the same messages.

“’We are trapped. Help. Please.’” Tessa reads, “’Help us. We’re dying.’” her voice wobbles “’Please, in the name of God, don’t let us die this way. We are dying. Please come and let us out.’ They all say the same thing. What, what do we do? Jack?” He moves round the table and takes the phone from her hands.

“The messages are being sent from the phones I found in the van.” he mumbles, “They were dying in the back of the van. No signal in the forest, the messages didn’t send. Batteries ran out searching for a signal.”

“They all say the same thing.” Tessa says, voice wobbling again, “They’re all asking for help.”

“Messages from the dead.” Clarissa says quietly.

***

“She’s alive!” Akka calls from the other end of the corridor. She had received a message from her mother. A message that had only been sent once Tessa had plugged Elia’s phone in. Elia Khoury was in the van. Akka’s mother is dead. And now Tessa and Nikki have to tell her that. “I wrote her, but she didn’t respond. I need to find her!” Akka beams, hugging Nikki with her good arm and smiling at Tessa over Nikki’s shoulder. “What should I do?” she asks, “I don’t want to go to the police. What should I do?” Nikki hugs her again, but with none of the joy that is exuding from Akka. She sees Tessa’s face. “What is it?”

“Akka…we need to show you something.” she tells her, “Come with us.” she adds. She and Nikki take Akka to where her mother is, the facial reconstruction picture placed on top of where her face is in the bag. “Your mother died, Akka. We found her in a van. She…she was trying to get to you.”

“My brother, Eapen?” Akka asks.

“We found a young boy in the back of the van.” Nikki tells her.

“My aunt? My cousin, my uncle?” Akka asks, and Nikki shakes her head. “It doesn’t really look like her.” Akka says quietly, reaching for the reconstruction picture. Tessa can tell she’s trying not to cry, and rests a hand on her arm. Akka turns to her, and lets her hug her, letting herself cry.

They walk to the door with her. Just before they reach it, Nikki takes a small tub from her pocket and holds it out to Akka. The diamonds she had found on Elia’s body. She puts it in Akka’s hand.

“Your mother brought these with her to help you start a new life. They belong to you. Take them.” Nikki tells her before walking forward to open the door for her. Nikki turns a corner to go somewhere else, and Tessa leads Akka through the building. When they go through the door to the outside, a man calls to them,

“You have my brother here?”

“Go back inside.” Tessa tells Akka before walking forward to meet the man, but Akka stays hovering in the doorway.

“I want my brother’s body.”

“Who is your brother?” Tessa asks calmly.

“Kwabena Asante.” he tells her, “Do you have him here?”

“If your brother is here and you come in and identify him, the police will release him to you.” Tessa explains.

“No police. I only want to bury my brother.”

“I understand, but you need to confirm with them that he is your brother before-“

“Open the door.”

“I can’t let you in-“

“Give me my brother’s body!” he explodes, tears in his eyes. “What is wrong with you English people, huh? Do you not feel nothing?”

“I’m not English and, believe me, I feel a great deal, but I cannot-“

“Give him to me!” the man shouts.

“Everything okay? Tess?” Jack appears through the door and stands behind Tessa.

“They killed him. He was a sweet, good man and they killed him for money. Please. Please. I need to bury my brother so he can rest in peace.”

“We can’t release him to you until the police say we can, and they can do that if you-“

“Please!” he cries again. Tessa steps back and he moves forward, and she bumps into Jack.

“I’m sorry.” Tessa tells him.

“Please!”

“Really sorry, bud.” Jack tells him.

“They took money from me. They said he would be safe.” the man says, calmer now.

“Then tell the police and give your brother justice.” Tessa tells him.

“You don’t understand.” he says, sounding disgusted, before he walks away.

“No! Please, I’m just trying-“

“Leave it, Tess.” Jack says quietly, a hand on her shoulder. “Come on. Inside.”

***

On their way to the next possible van, Goodchild, Jack and Tessa are stuck in the traffic. Tessa is next to the car on her motorbike. She rests her foot on the road and tugs her helmet off, leaning down as Jack rolls down the window.

“I can get through those gaps on the bike.” she tells Goodchild. He sits for a moment, thinking, before he looks up at the traffic again and sighs.

“Right. But I’m not getting on that thing.” he says.

“Jack?” Tessa asks.

“Yep.” he mutters, opening the door, closing it and climbing onto the bike behind Tessa.

“Helmet.” she says, passing hers back to him.

“Helmet. That won’t fit.” he says, pushing it through the car window before Goodchild winds it back up again. Arms go around Tessa’s middle. “Locked and loaded.”

“On our way.” Tessa says before zooming off, weaving in between cars and lorries.

***

A silver car is waiting in the trees when they get there. The two of them clamber off the bik and walk slowly towards it, stopping when they see a man moving towards it from another direction. He has a hand at his side, as if it’s painful.

“A girl.” Tessa whispers, pointing out the pink jacket and long dark hair moving through the trees towards the car. A car pulls up behind them. Goodchild.

“Arrived. Need urgent assistance, no blues and twos.” he says into his phone as he moves to stand beside Jack and Tessa.

“What do you want to do?” Jack asks quietly.

“Mr Yusef?” the little girl Tessa had been watching calls. The girl looks at the man at the car, and he looks back. The three move forward, and he hears them.

“Run. Run!” he shouts to the girl, and she takes off. He runs in another direction. Jack, Tessa and Goodchild start running too, Goodchild yelling,

“Police!”

Tessa peels away from the other two, going after the little girl, the pink jacket bobbing up and down in the trees.

“Wait! Wait! I want to help!” she shouts to her. The girl’s head turns for a split second before she starts running faster. She hears Jack’s voice calling something from not too far away. Tessa’s head turns, and she loses sight of the little girl. But she sees a man in a beanie, running. But not like he’s out for a nice jog. Like he’s running away from something. She sprints after him, launches herself at him at the same moment as Jack does, and all three of them thump onto the ground.

***

“Bodies in the van?” Nikki asks.

“Not in the van.” Tessa tells her before leading her round to where the dead man is lying, head covered in blood.

“Alan Wilson.” Nikki mumbles, and Jack nods. “Did he do it?” she asks, nodding at the man Tessa and Jack had tackled earlier.

“Says he was still in the van.” Jack tells her.

“Who let him out?” Nikki asks.

“Alan Wilson’s killer, probably.” Tessa says.

“He let them out?”

“Looks like it.”

“The killer took photos of the body,” Jack says, holding up the phone, “and sent then to Jamal Al Sham and Kali Aziz.”

“He’s YH, the French number in their phones. He doesn’t know they’re dead.” Tessa says.

“The brutality’s a warning.” Nikki realises aloud.

***

They watch Akka and Sosa, asleep together on the chair.

“Her cousin. She was separated from Elia and Eapen in the chaos.” Nikki tells Thomas.

“She’s alive today because of it. How’d she get here?” Thomas asks.

“In the van. Where Alan Wilson died. She ran, I tried to find her, but I lost here.” Tessa says. The door buzzes and Thomas moves to let Butler into the room. She’s carrying two blue bags.

“Thank you.” Nikki says.

“No one ever says that.” Butler tells her. “They’re both under sixteen?”

“Yes.”

“No parents here?”

“They’re cousins. Akka’s parents are dead. Sosa’s are unaccounted for.”

“Then I think they’ll qualify for asylum. We passed the hat, bought them a few clothes.” Butler says, indicating the bag. Tessa smiles,

“Thank you.”


	3. Discovery: Part One

** DISCOVERY PART ONE **

Tessa’s phone rings again in the night.

“Jack? Jack Hodgson, why do you insist on waking me up in the wee hours of the night?” she asks, pressing the heel of her hand to her eye.

 _I’m awake._ he says simply.

“So I have to be awake too?” Tessa hitches herself up so she’s almost sitting, pulling her legs towards her. “You know, you could always just call ahead and come round at dinnertime instead.” she tells him, breaking off to yawn. “Everything okay?”

_Is everything okay with you?_

“What d’you mean?” Tessa asks, letting herself slide back downwards.

_You haven’t been talking much since you came back. Was everything okay at home?_

“I told you it was fine.”

_No, you walked off._

“How’s your da?” Tessa counters sharply, and there is silence on the other end. “That’s what I thought.”

_Tess-_

“Drop it, Jack. Just drop it.” Tessa snaps before shutting the phone down and dropping it. She curls herself into a ball, and doesn’t sleep again that night.

***

As Nikki, Jack and Tessa collects suits the next day, two people walk towards them, the man with his hand out to shake Nikki’s.

“DCI Andy Steemson. This is DS Karen Wretzky.” he says, indicating the woman standing next to him as he and Wretzky shake hands with the other two.

“Nikki Alexander, pathologist.”

“Jack Hodgson, forensics.”

“Tessa Cole, also forensics.”

“I know what you’re thinking. It’s only been twenty-four hours since Lucy disappeared, but there’s something we’re keeping under wraps.” Steemson says before turning and walking away with Wretzky, leading the team towards the house. “We got a one-second 999 call from her mobile at 9:23am. Nothing audible.”

“Well, it should help with the location at least.” Nikki says.

“Only picked up on the one mast.” Steemson tells her.

“So we can’t triangulate.” Jack says.

“No. Traces of what looks like blood and maybe fingerprints were found here. The samples are on their way to you.” Steemson points the marks out, and Nikki bends to look at them. “Of course, it’s still possible that she walked off into the sunset, but II want to rule out that she was taken by force from this location. I also want to rule out that she’s in this location.”

“Okay…” Tessa mumbles, sounding unsure.

“Let me spell this out for you. Missing girl, big search party. A media circus. Couple of days later, the body shows up in her home, in the attic or cellar, usually. It’s been there all the time. That’s not going to happen on my watch.”

“You want a forensic guarantee there’s not a dead body on the premises, basically?” Nikki checks.

“Basically, yeah.”

“Fine. Then we’ll need the run of the house.”

“Okay.” Steemson says before he leaves.

“He grows on you.” Wretzky tells them.

“I look forward to it.” Tessa says drily.

Within a few minutes, they’re in their suits and in the house. Nikki sniffs the air.

“Something burnt?” Tessa asks, smelling what Nikki is, and Nikki nods.

“This is a big place for a primary school teacher.” Jack remarks.

“Nice though.” Tessa says, and he makes a small humming noise. Nikki’s picked up a picture from a sideboard. A family picture.

“I’m thinking family money.” she says.

“Got some bike treads here.” Jack tells them, using his torch to light them up, “No bike.” he adds as Tessa starts up the stairs to find the woman’s room. There are pictures of her everywhere. She goes over to the dresses, bound to be full of fingerprints and DNA. There’s a small sticking plaster lying on it, the kind of plaster used to cover earrings. There’s a smear of blood on it, so Tessa picks it up. She puts it back down on the table when she hears Nikki’s voice calling her name. She makes her way down the stairs as Nikki emerges from the kitchen, holding something that doesn’t look unlike a baking tray.

“What is that?” Tessa asks.

“Looks like your cooking, Tess.” Jack remarks, and she elbows him sharply.

“Shut up, Jack.” she snaps, and his face changes.

“I think it was a cake.” Nikki tells them quickly.

“Who bakes a cake then disappears into the sunset?”

***

“You’ll be pleased to know you were entirely correct.” Thomas says, stepping into his office with DS Steele.

“About our victim?” she asks.

“Tina Lunt, 32.” he says, picking up a file and the evidence bag containing the clothes found on the body, “Long record for theft and possession, coke and cannabis, nothing for a couple of years, though.” he continues, giving Steele the file, “She’s listed as divorce, ten-year-old-son.” Thomas moves past Steele and into the next room, “Jack, I need you to check out the white powder on this tracksuit.”

“Sure, just leave it on my desk.” he tells Thomas, standing up. He, Nikki and Tessa are just getting ready to go back out to the house.

“Right. When do you think you might get round to it?”

“Uh, this afternoon, the earliest. Might need a gentle nudge.” Jack tells.

“I’ll do it, Thomas.” Tessa offers, shrugging her jacket off.

“We’re going back to the house.” Jack reminds her.

“You can manage without me, you were doing it well enough while I was away.” Tessa says, voice oddly tight.

“Suit yourself.” Jack mutters before walking away. Nikki follows him after sharing a confused look with Thomas, who then looks to Tessa.

“Everything alright?” he asks lightly.

“Yeah, course.” she tells him, taking the evidence bag without looking at him, “I’ll get started on this.”

***

“Okay, so, because of her history, I thought I’d check if it was coke first, just for you, Steele, and no. Not cocaine. So, moving on, spun it around, put it on a slide to take a better look. Cornstarch.” Tessa says to Thomas and DS Steele.

“Cornstarch?” she asks disbelievingly.

“Which is found pretty much everywhere.” Thomas sighs.

“Thing is, it wasn’t just like a light dusting on top of the clothes, no, it was embedded in the fabric. Which leads me to believe that Tina Lunt was in a car where the airbag exploded. Does that fit with the car guy you went to see?”

“Maconi has form for stolen airbags.” Steele tells Thomas.

“That’s leverage.” he says.

“He tells us where Beale is or we take our time turning his garage over.”

“Yeah, starting with that machine room upstairs. Marks on his vice match marks on Tina’s screwdrivers.” Thomas says, as he and Steele start to walk away together, “My guess is she’s into air-bag theft and bent the tips to prise them out.”

“You’re welcome?” Tessa calls as they disappear through the door.

***********

“I might be able to help with a timeline on the injury to Lucy’s ear.” Clarissa offers. Tessa knows she’s talking to Nikki, but she listens anyway. She’s part of that case after all.

“How?” Nikki asks.

“A recent selfie. Uploaded automatically to her cloud.” Clarissa continues, and Tessa looks up to the photo. Note there, the lovely but snaggable earrings. Photo was taken nine days ago, and you thought the ear injury was over a week old. Could have just been a sartorial mishap. But it would be nice to be sure.” Clarissa says, and Nikki nods before moving to grab her jacket.

“I’ll head over.”

“Nikki? Can I come with you?” Tessa asks quickly. Nikki looks somewhat surprised that she’s asked.

“Uh, yeah. Yes, of course you can. I thought…”

“Thought what?”

“Jack said you were doing something else, you wouldn’t be on this case anymore.”

“Oh, screw Jack. I was doing the test for Thomas because he wouldn’t, lazy git.” Tessa says, voice gradually becoming both angrier and more strongly Scottish.

“Tessa? Is everything alright?” Clarissa asks quietly.

“Everyone keeps asking me that today! I’m fine.” Tessa insists, pulling her coat on. “Nikki, I found a plaster with some blood on it at Lucy’s house.”

“Right. Well, we’ll take it when we leave to check it. Let’s go.”

************

“I’m sorry to put you through this, Alice.” Nikki says to Lucy’s very pregnant sister as she leads Nikki and Tessa upstairs.

“It’s okay.” Alice answers. Nikki pulls a box full of earrings out of the dresser while Tessa bags the small plaster she had seen before.

“Look like them?” Nikki asks, holding up a pair of earrings and the photograph Clarissa had found.

“They were Mum’s.” Alice nods, and Nikki starts to bag the earrings. Tessa sits next to Alice.

“Okay?” she asks, and Alice nods again, though she looks tearful.

“Is that your husband outside?” Nikki asks, looking out the window.

“Yes. He’s waiting to take me home.” Alice answers.

“So, Lucy lived here all by herself?”

“You can ask. Why didn’t big sister get the big house?” Alice pauses before continuing, “My parents cut me out of their will. They were worried whatever money they left me would’ve gone straight up my nose. Back then, they were probably right.” she tells them. Tessa reaches out to put a hand on Alice’s shoulder.

“Thank you for helping us. I understand how hard it is.”

Alice leaves the house with her husband before Tessa and Nikki walk out, DS Wretzky waiting for them.

“The blood found here matched Lucy’s DNA.” Nikki says, indicating where blood had been found on the steps. Lucy told her sister that she caught her earring on a bush getting out of a taxi.”

“But even if the taxi didn’t drop her at the front door…” Wretzky starts.

“Seems a stretch she’d stumble into the bushes.”

“Why lie about it?” Tessa wonders aloud.

***************

“I’ll do the swab for DNA, but I don’t think we’ll have to wait that long.” Tessa says, bent over a microscope.

“Why not?” Nikki asks, looking up from her phone.

“In the blood, there’s a partial fingerprint. I’ll see if there’s a match…” Tessa says, turning to a computer displaying the finger print database. The partial print is scanned for any matches, and one pops up. “Not Lucy’s then.” Tessa says as a man’s profile pops onto the screen.

“Christ!” Nikki says, breathing in sharply, “That’s Alice’s husband.”

***

“Hey. What’s the gathering for?” Tessa asks, walking into the room where Nikki, Clarissa, Jack, Steemson and Wretzky are all crowded round a laptop.

“I’ve just run the washings from Lucy Chatham’s turbinates,” Clarissa tells the group, “Nothing out of the ordinary except trace levels of cornstarch.”

“Cornstarch?” Tessa repeats, frowning at the oddly familiar picture on Clarissa’s screen. “Hang on, hang on, just a second.” she mumbles, moving back over to her desk and picking up a tablet, bringing up the picture she took of the scope results from the tracksuit dust. “Thomas!” she calls out, holding the tablet next to Clarissa’s laptop.

“What?” Thomas calls back, appearing in the door with DS Steele.

“What’s this sample from?” Steemson asks Tessa.

“Cornstarch found on Tina Lunt, the victim in Thomas’ case, which I reckon is from an airbag from a car.”

“Yeah, and?” Thomas asks.

“And, look what Clarissa found in Lucy Chatham’s turbinates. Cornstarch. They’re identical, Thomas.”

“Hang on, hang on, if they are from airbags, then surely hundreds are deployed every day, yeah?” Steemson asks as Thomas moves to look at the screens over Tessa’s shoulder.

“But the majority have silicate filling, not cornstarch.” Clarissa points out.

“What are the chances of two women being murdered within a day of each other coming into contact with the same cornstarch powder?” Nikki asks.

“Bloody slim, I’d say.” Wretzky answers.

“We’re working the same case.” Thomas realises aloud.


	4. Discovery: Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a bit less case and more about Tessa in this one

**DISCOVERY PART TWO**

Tessa sits alone in her poky flat, some light filtering through the curtains as she lifts her phone to her ear. She has to phone three times before it’s answered.

“Hello.”

 _Who is this?_ A shaky voice asks on the other end.

“It’s Tessa.”

_I don’t know any Tessa._

“Tess beag.” she says, eyes screwing closed. “Beagan nighean le falt dònn. Do nighean-peathar.” she continues in a language that definitely isn’t English.

 _Chan eil mi_ _eòlach thu. Chan eil mi nighean-peathar agad._ the voice on the other end responds in the same language sounding confused.

“No. No, taitnich-“ she starts, but then all sound is cut off. They’ve hung up. “Please.” the word escapes as a single tear drops down, marking a dark circle onto the duvet. She starts dialling the number again as another tear drops down onto the screen, but her phone rings before she can finish the number. It’s Jack. “Weasel. Hi.” she tries to say it brightly, but she sniffs loudly, and her voice sounds like she’s been crying. Maybe it can’t be heard over the phone-

_Are you okay?_

Bang goes that theory.

“Yeah. Fine.”

_Yeah…okay. I couldn’t get through for ages._

“I was calling someone.”

_Were you calling him?_

“What is it you need to tell me? Has something turned up?”

 _You’re late. Thomas has been nudging me to call you for half an hour._ Jack tells her, and Tessa looks up at the clock. She is very, _very_ later.

“Oh bugger.”

_Yep._

“I will be there as soon as I can, I swear.”

_Remember to put some trousers on._

“Oh, shut up, Weasel, that was one time years ago.”

***

“I’m here, I’m here!” Tessa calls out, pulling her coat off and throwing it at the nearest chair as she rushes towards where she can see Thomas and DS Steele. He’s fiddling with something with what looks like an arrow in it, she’s on her phone.

“Finally. Tessa, fridge, top shelf.” Thomas says without looking up, and Tessa goes to the fridge and takes the watermelon from the top shelf and hands it to Thomas, who places it carefully into the shallow blue dip opposite the thing with the screwdriver. Steele seems more interested now, and moves forward, bending to look closer. “You might want to stand well back.” Thomas tells her, and she steps back to stand beside him and Tessa.

“Thomas? What is this?” Tessa asks, waving a finger towards the water melon and the thing with the arrow.

“That is an airbag.” he says simply before counting slowly down from three and pressing a button. The airbag goes off, and the arrow-like screwdriver in it goes cleanly through the watermelon. “Clean entry wound, barely torn the flesh. Sound familiar?”

“Tina Lunt.” Steele says.

“The screwdriver was driven into her with such force it broke off the handle, smashed through her sternum, and scarcely tore the skin.”

“And covering her in cornstarch powder.” Tessa adds in a mumble as she realises it herself.

“If Tina Lunt wasn’t murdered, who moved her body and why?” DS Steele asks.

“My money? Wesley Beale, for reasons of self-preservation.” Thomas says.

“The same powder was found on Lucy Chatham, are we saying Beale killed her?”

“Well, I’m hoping Wesley can provide some answers. Have a look.” Thomas says, picking up Wesley’s file and pulling out some pictures, “Cause of death, chest and abdominal injuries consistent with multiple overrunnings by a vehicle.” he goes on, shuffling pictures around, “Look at these. These are different. They’re older and the abrasions are not consistent with a collision. He’d been struck repeatedly by the same implement,” he traces the shape with his finger, “Twin marks with a broadening at one end. It’s not a blade, or we’d see deeper cuts.”

“Looks like a horseshoe.” Tessa mutters, tilting her head. “Or a-“

“Spanner.” DS Steele says at the same moment as Tessa does, picking up one of the pictures.

“Well, a spanner is a contender, certainly.” Thomas agrees.

“Do you think we’d find a spanner lying around Maconi’s garage?” Steele asks lightly.

“Yeah, one or two.”

***

Tessa sits at a desk, pen tapping against the back of her hand. Thomas and DS Steele have gone back to Maconi’s garage. She didn’t go. She’s not technically part of that case after all. She checks her phone again. And again.

“How are you feeling?” a voice behind her asks, and Tessa jumps, her pen clattering to the floor.

“Clarissa!” she hadn’t heard her coming.

“Expecting a call?” Clarissa asks, nodding at Tessa’s phone, which she swiftly pockets.

“No. No.” Tessa tells her. Clarissa holds out a hand.

“Hand it over.” she says simply, and after a moment Tessa pulls her phone back out of her pockets and gives it to her. “Thank you. Now, are you sure you’re feeling alright?” Clarissa asks, but she doesn’t get and answer because Nikki walks in, grabs her coat and tells Tessa,

“We’re going to Doctor Timpson’s to look for Alec Porter.” Nikki tells her before disappearing again.

“Sorry, Clarissa, I’ve got to-“ Tessa starts.

“It’s fine. It’s not my mood.” Clarissa says simply before whizzing away.

***

“Thomas, what can I do for you, I’m at Doctor Timpson’s house.” Tessa says into her phone as she watches Doctor Timpson where he stands in front of his car.

 _Our theory about Tina Lunt being killed by a deployed air-bag. This morning didn’t, DS Wretzky say something about Timpson’s car alarm going off?_ Thomas asks. Tessa guesses he must be done at Maconi’s.

“A deployed air-bag would trigger the car alarm.”

_Exactly._

“Okay. I get what you’re saying, I’ll see what I can find.” Tessa says before hanging up on Thomas and walking toward Timpson. “Your car alarm went off on Saturday morning, correct?” she asks, the r sound rolling a little.

“Just a malfunction. No harm done.” Timpson tells her, and she nods, glancing into the car.

“Alright. Take it to the garage?”

“Sorry?”

“The seat covers in your car.”

“Oh. Petrol gauge was playing up, saying it was empty when it wasn’t.”

“I don’t know an awful lot about cars, but would the garage cover your seats just for that?” Tessa asks, letting her head tilt to the side.

“They know I’m a neat freak.” Timpson says.

“So taking it to the garage had nothing to do with the alarm going off?”

“No.”

“Same vehicle?”

“Yeah, same vehicle.”

“Yeah, okay, cool. Thanks, just wanted to clear that up.” Tessa says, sending him a quick, insincere smile before leaving to find Steemson inside the house.

***

“What have you got?” Steemson asks as he marches out of the house.

“I’ve just called his mechanics, they fitted a new air-bag yesterday, as well as replacing the front bumper and touching up the paint work.” Jack tells him.

“It looks like Tina Lunt tried to steal the air-bag from Nick’s car, killing herself in the process.” DS Steele tells Steemson.

“The air-bag went off in the process, and the force of it propelled the screwdriver into her heart.” Tessa explains.

“Accidental death?” Steemson asks.

“Wesley Beale, her partner in crime, showed his true colours and fled the scene.” Steele says.

“So, Jessica tells her dad his car alarm is going off,” Steemson starts, “he comes out to investigate and then decides to remove Tina’s body from the car.”

“From the direction Lucy was travelling in, she would have turned into the lane and would have had a clear view into the drive.” Nikki says, holding a map.

“And into Doctor Timpson dragging Tina Lunt’s body around, and he saw her.” Tessa continues, “I suppose we can then assume, due to the repairs done to his car, he got into it, followed Lucy and rammed into her.”

“Why? Why did he take Tina’s body out of the car?” Steemson asks.

“Why couldn’t he call the police?” Wretzky asks.

***

When Tessa gets home, she sits for a while, cradling her phone in her hand. She shouldn’t do it. She shouldn’t, but she does. She presses the right numbers and lifts the phone to her ear. The call isn’t answered, _please leave a message after the tone._ She wants to leave a message. She can’t. No matter what she says, the man on the other end won’t know who she is.

So instead she dials a different number.

“Nikki, hi. Sorry it’s late, I just…I just wanted to say hi.”


	5. Rememberance: Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wondering, are these chapters an okay length? Would you rather them longer, or are they good as they are (averaging between 1600 and 1800 words)  
> Also, if you want, remember to tell me what you think :)

**REMEMBERANCE PART ONE**

A girl called Lorna Katz has been found, drowned in the river. Clarissa’s managed to narrow down the possible places where she may have been killed and Jack, Tessa and DI Ashton have reached their first destination.

“If she was dumped here, the tide would had to have been high enough at the time. If it’s low tide, you’d have mud banks on either side.” Jack tells Ashton as his phone rings. “Hi.” he answers. Tessa assumes it’s Clarissa. “Uh, good question. Tess, where…”

“TQ391 816.” she tells him, and he relays this through the phone. Tessa moves away and closer to the river itself. The call ends quicker than expected and the three continue walking, stopping when they come across a sign warning them of the Japanese knotweed.

“What’s that?” Ashton asks after another minute or so of walking.

“It’s an old sewer outflow.” Jack tells her.

“Sewer?” she asks as he digs out his phone again,

“Yeah, uh, that lettering in the lividity. Could it have something to do with drainage and sewers?” he asks, and a few moments later Tessa can just about hear Clarissa’s voice coming from the phone,

_“Yeah. Here we go. ‘H’ could be Hollis and Sons. An ironworks.”_

“Okay, brilliant, thanks, bye.” Jack says quickly before once more putting his phone back in his pocket. “You ready to get smelly?” he asks the other two.

“Are we going in?” Ashton asks disbelievingly.

“Oh yes.” Tessa tells her, already moving towards the sewage pipe.

“Tess can go first, she’s the smallest.” Jack tells the detective.

“Shut up, Jack!” Tessa calls as she climbs in. Jack follows, and then DI Ashton.

“Er, how are we with tides?” Ashton asks.

“Ah, plenty of time.” Tessa tells her. “Oi, Jack, keep that torch in front of you so I can see.” she adds before stepping off the raised edge and into the actual sewage, which just about covers her feet encased in their wellie boots. Jack steps down behind her, but Ashton stays up on the edge, a hand to her nose.

“God, it stinks.” Ashton mutters at one point, voice distorted by the hand holding her nose.

“Yeah, it’s sewage.” Jack points out.

“Try rotting fish.” Tessa tells her, “Or bodies.”

“No thanks.” Ashton replies before moving the light of her torch down the wall, “Here it is. Huh? Is this what made the lividity marks?” she asks, crouching to see it better, some kind of grille with _Hollis & Sons _marked on it, the letters standing out.

“Yes, this is it. Her body was here.” Jack confirms for her, moving his torch up the wall, up the pipe there. There is tape wrapped around it, ripped ends poking out.

“Floodwaters moving her body, rising and falling…” Tessa starts.

“And cutting through the tape.” Ashton finishes Tessa’s sentence.

“Yep.” Tessa says, shifting a little so Jack can take a picture with his phone.

***

A harsh, loud, angry voice, _“You’re hurting me, Lorna! You’re torturing me!”_

“Was this left on Lorna’s voicemail?” Nikki asks. The message is being played through Clarissa’s laptop. A quiet clicking noise comes from somewhere beside Thomas.

“Yep.” Jack answers.

“What, the night she died?”

“Mm-hmm.”

 _“Do you want me to come and find you? You want that, do you? You want me to come and find you, you bitch? You know what’ll happen if I do.”_ the recording stops, and the clicking noise gets louder, quicker. Until Thomas takes the clicky pen from Tessa’s hand, tucking it into his pocket instead.

“It goes on like that, escalating. Angrier and angrier.” Clarissa tells the room as Jack stands up and goes to the board. “Half a dozen messages.”

“From,” Jack starts, pressing a finger to the board and bringing up a picture, “This guy. Aaron Logan.” he tells them. DI Ashton’s phone rings, and she answers it,

“Hi,” a pause, then, “Got an email from us?”

“Uh…” Jack starts, already sitting back next to Clarissa and reaching for the keyboard. She hits his hands and takes over. “Yeah, it’s on screen.” Jack says as Ashton switches her phone to speaker and puts it down on the table. A picture of a young, red-haired girl pops up onto the screen. DS Pope, from the other end of DI Ashton’s phone, starts speaking,

_“Right. The photo you’re looking at is of a fifteen-year-old girl called Ruth Tresize. She went missing on New Year’s Eve three years ago.”_

Tessa has another pen in her hand and is tapping it against her leg, the noise gradually getting louder and quicker as the detectives speak,

_“Her last known location was on the banks of the River Lea in Clapton.”_

“And?” Ashton asks.

 _“And she was friends with Lorna Katz.”_ Pope answers, _“They were at school together.”_

“So, what’re you saying, we’re looking at a second victim?”

_“There was no body with Ruth. The investigation was inconclusive.”_

“Hang on. Um…who was questioned?”

 _“Her father, for one. His wife accused him of physically abusing their daughter. He was hounded out of his job as a teacher because of it.”_ Pope tells them as Thomas reaches out and takes the other pen from Tessa.

“Anybody else?”

_“Yeah. Names: Lee Rundle, Michael Kempson, Toby Daniels, Aaron Logan-“_

“Stop. Um, that last name again, please?”

_“Aaron Logan.”_

***

Jack walks back into the main room, where Clarissa usually is, and sits beside her, talking quietly. Tessa sits at a desk on the other side of the room, knee bouncing up and down as she stares at the paper in front of her, every so often scribbling down a note.

“Mind if I relieve you of your help?” Jack asks Clarissa, nodding towards Tessa.

“Not at all. I think she’s about to wear a hole through that paper.” she replies, just as Tessa takes to the paper with a rubber.

“See you tomorrow then.”

“See you tomorrow.” Clarissa replies, turning back to her screen as Jack walks over to Tessa and pulls one of her earphones out.

“Earth to Tess. Dinnertime. Come on, me and you. I owe you one.”

“But Clarissa-“

“Clarissa said it’s fine. Come on.” Jack tells her, pulling her jacket from the back of her chair and holding it out in front of her. She looks up at him for a second before taking the jacket and swinging it around her shoulders as she stands.

“Alright. Where are we going?” Tessa asks, shoving her hands into her pockets as she ducks under Jack’s arm and through the main door.

“There.” he tells her, pointing at the bench outside the Lyell as he moves towards his car. Tessa sits there without question and waits for Jack to come back to her, polystyrene boxes in hand. He hands one to her as he sits and says, “Here. Good fish supper now you’re back.” Tess turns her head and stares at him for a moment.

“Jack. I was born on a fishing island, the island I’ve just come back from. Believe me, I’ve had enough good fish suppers in the last few months.”

“Won’t hurt you to have another one then.” he shrugs, sticking a chip in his mouth. Tessa just shakes her head at him and opens her box. “And anyway, weren’t your family crofters?” he asks. Tessa ignores his question and says,

“You know what I can’t get on that island? A half decent Ruby Murray.”

“See, curry was my second option…” he starts, beginning to smile as Tessa elbows him. “Alright, next time we’ll get an Indian.”

“But next time it’s my turn to pay and this is meant to be your treat.”

“Who said that?”

“You did.”

“I did not.” Jack says as Tessa shoves chips into her mouth. She tries to say something, but it’s distorted by the chips. Jack seems to understand whatever she says though, as he replies, “Fine, I’ll pay. But I get to choose where we go after that.”

“Ta.” Tessa makes out around the chips. They sit there together, the boxes warming their hands until they’re done, and Tessa takes the rubbish to the bin. She shoves her hands into her pockets and walks back to the bench.

“Want a lift?” Jack asks.

“If you take me home you have to pick me up tomorrow.” Tessa points out.

“I don’t mind.”

“Go on then.” she says, and Jack slings an arm around her shoulders as they fall into step during the short walk to his car. They discuss the case until they’re halfway to Tessa’s block of flats. Then he switches to asking about the island, were Tessa came from, where she had been before Akka’s case. She’s giving small, tight answers, staring out of the window.

“And the crofts?” he asks.

“They’re there.” she answers.

“And how’s he? I know I already asked but-“ Jack stops, seeing Tessa’s stony face as the car rolls to a stop. “Tess?”

“Why can’t you take a hint and just drop it? I don’t want to talk about it, Jack.” Tess says sharply, almost snapping, as she opens the door and hops out of the car. She turns to look at him, saying, “Look, don’t bother coming round to pick me up tomorrow, I’ll just get the bus.”

“No, Tess, look-“ Jack starts, but the door closes and she’s walking away before he can say anything else. “Damnit.”

***

Tessa catches up with Jack and DI Ashton as they go through the gate with the floatation dummy.

“Ah, there she is!” Jack calls when he sees her and she runs to reach him and the detective.

“Look, Jack, about yesterday-“

“It’s yesterday, it doesn’t matter anymore. Next time I push it-“

“Give you a wallop?”

“If you like.” Jack shrugs, shifting the dummy from his shoulder to hers, “Now go chuck this in the river for me.”

“Why can’t you do it?” Ashton asks, not unkindly, but simply curiously.

“I’m a better swimmer.” Tessa answers. She turns her head a little and gives Jack a small smile, “Comes with being an island girl.”


End file.
